I’m a big fan of action games; it’s one of my favourite genres. I love stringing together combos, being extra flashy, and feeling like a god as I destroy waves of enemies. It’s for this reason that I’ve steered clear of Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden series for so long. While it does have satisfying action gameplay, it’s also brutally difficult, and that’s not what I want in a game like this… usually. With the reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4, my interest has been piqued with the new protagonist and the involvement of Platinum Games (of Bayonetta and Wonderful 101 fame). And just as luck would have it, Ninja Gaiden 4 is playable at PAX Aus 2025, which must be a sign to finally give this series a go.
I was expecting some satisfying gameplay from Ninja Gaiden 4, but I was not ready for it whatsoever. This game is fast, snappy, and makes you pay attention to every movement of your enemies. It was a bit intimidating at first, but then it became addicting to string together combos, ending in satisfying executions that looked brutal as fuck. One that made me wince a little bit involved cutting off a dude’s legs and then splitting his head in two, followed by a fountain of blood. This game is definitely not for the squeamish types.
The movement is also addictive, chaining sprints, jumps, and grappling points together to navigate the environment and get the drop on the enemies. There was a section of the demo that showcased this perfectly, as it had me chain wall-running with multiple grappling points to assassinate an enemy and begin a combat encounter. I can see myself getting way into the movement in the full game, cause this shit was gas.
The finale of the demo was a boss fight, and I’m man enough to say that I got my shit rocked. The difficulty was on full display and left me questioning my gaming skills. However, it did come down to a skill issue as I wasn’t using the proper tools for the job. Once I understood the patterns, I was able to narrowly get the win (the first of the convention, according to the booth staff). I loved the fight, and I’m excited to challenge even harder bosses (and get my shit rocked again).
Ninja Gaiden 4 is a visually stunning game with meticulous attention to detail. The character models all look phenomenal, with Yakumo’s model in particular looking sick. The way his scarf billows in the wind as you stand above a group of enemies in the rain had me stop and stare for longer than I would’ve liked. This level of detail stretches to the enemies, even if you don’t see them for very long before they get murked. The executions in this game look like stuff ripped straight out of Mortal Kombat, except way faster. The speed of the animations makes everything look extra brutal, and I don’t see them getting old anytime soon. The boss even had its own unique execution animation that was just fantastic.
Ninja Gaiden 4 was one of the bigger surprises of PAX Aus for me. I went in thinking it would just be a hard button masher, but I instead got a taste of what could be a GOTY contender. I can’t wait to see what else is in store when Ninja Gaiden 4 drops later this month.
Are you going to play Ninja Gaiden 4? Have you played the series before? What’s your favourite game genre? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about our favourite hack-and-slash games.
